


Mistakes and a Murder

by Meraus



Category: Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Camille as abuser, Decapitation, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Saphael relationship is implied through interaction but not fact, This was meant to be a fix it fic but something went southwards, get your feelings hurt for free
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 21:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6488188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meraus/pseuds/Meraus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raphael Santiago has made many mistakes in his life. Some small, like when he told his mother her pasta was soggy. Some big, like when he thought vampire hunting was a great idea. His most recent mistake, however, was turning Simon Lewis and taking him under his wing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mistakes and a Murder

**Author's Note:**

> I haven’t read the books, so this is all made up and show-based. I’ve also never actually finished writing a fic, so I hope this is up to standard. Please don’t be afraid to tell me if I’ve messed up somewhere, constructive criticism is always a big help. (Definitely tell me if I forgot to tag something triggering.)
> 
> Do you guys know the thing after WW1 when everyone was looking for someone to blame and all just pointed the finger at Germany and basically gave them, like, the actual worst, most merciless punishment they could think of? Well, I warn you that, thanks to the 1x13 aftermath, I made Camille my Germany. The actual Devil. She is evil in vampire shape in this fic, since I decided to put all my 1x13 frustration in her.
> 
> As a side note, [Calajane](http://calajane.tumblr.com/) is my muse for this fic and told me to write this after we spend some time in the saphael trashcan together and I threw the idea at them. If you like it, you have them to thank as well since they pretty much put the gears in motion and then helped me figure out how to end it on a happy note. 
> 
> This work hasn't been beta-read, all mistakes are my own.

Raphael Santiago has made many mistakes in his life. Some small, like when he told his mother her pasta was soggy. Some big, like when he thought vampire hunting was a great idea. His most recent mistake, however, was turning Simon Lewis and taking him under his wing. 

He taps his fingers on the sofa he’s sitting on impatiently. They’re still slightly damaged from being exposed to sunlight, courtesy of the Lightwood girl, and it’s just one more small detail that makes it all the worse. He’s been contemplating his plan of action for days now. Camille being freed meant he could lose his leadership position and his life. Even worse, it meant that mundanes would start missing again soon, only to either be found dead and drained or come back undead. The clave would take notice and this would all come back to him. Simon Lewis was their safe card. If it weren’t for the clave only caring about their own, Simon would have already been put to use and Camille’s fate would have already been decided. He knows Simon signed a document stating his turning was of his own will, Camille made sure to flaunt it in his face personally. He would have killed her, but she’s more powerful than him and he isn’t sure he would win. The clan drove her out and they don’t want her back, but he knows she’s slowly, as to not catch the clave’s attention, building a new clan and planning to take over by force. 

He taps his fingers to the rhythm of Stan’s footsteps, only stopping when the man enters the room. ‘’There’s a shadowhunter approaching.’’ Stan informs him. Raphael hums, the corners of his mouth turning down. ‘’Which one?’’ He asks, although it doesn’t really matter. He’s not interested in receiving them, not after their betrayal. He knew this would happen sooner or later, shadowhunters are the least trustworthy of all, in his experience. Their egos are too inflated, they’re too well protected and armed, the privilege they have blinds them. He expected this from a shadowhunter, but he never expected it from Simon, no matter how close he was to them. ‘’Valentine’s daughter.’’ Stan informs him. Another thing he didn’t expect, that he really should have, is the nerve of that orange haired eyesore. He’s interested, though, and a little desperate, hoping for her to bring something that could put Camille down for good. ‘’Show her in. Don’t bother being respectful.’’ She doesn’t deserve it. Stan nods and leaves the room. Raphael picks himself up and moves to the middle of the room to receive their unwanted guest. 

He’s called for the clan to kill her before, but after the moment was over and his head cleared up, he’d withdrawn the order. If they killed a shadowhunter all hell would break loose. Suddenly the clave would take less than a minute to make themselves known, instead of the weeks Raphael has been waiting. They’d wipe out the entire clan. Raphael sighs as he composes himself, slicks down his jacket and puts a smile on his face.  
‘’Clary Fairchild.’’ He greets when she walks in. He motions for Stan to stand put, who does as he’s told, unlike some people. ‘’I can’t say I expected to see you again.’’ He adds, with a bite to it. She knows she’s not welcome, there’s no point in pretending she is. ‘’Raphael, I know I’m probably the last person you want to see right now.’’ She starts. ‘’You’ve got that right.’’ Raphael comments in the small pause between sentences. Clary lets it slip. ‘’And also the last person you’d help, but-‘’ Raphael rudely interrupts her, putting his hand up in the universal ‘shut up’ gesture. His eyes are trained on the ceiling as he laughs humourlessly. 

‘’You think,’’ He draws out in a single breath, his smile slowly fading as he slides his eyes back down to the shadowhunter. ‘’I would help you? After you broke in, freed Camille and betrayed our truce, all for your own self gain? You think,’’ At this point he’s practically seething, dropping his fangs and barely managing to talk around them as he stalks up to her. ‘’I would do anything for you after you as good as damned the entire clan just to wake your mother up?’’ He’s started seeing red, Clary appears to him like prey and he knows he needs to get himself under control. ‘’You have no business here. Leave.’’ 

Clary gapes for a second, before she seems to collect herself. ‘’Yes, I do.’’ She states. It was obvious she wasn’t going to leave on her own, so Raphael motioned for Stan to force her. ‘’It’s Simon, he’s in trouble.’’ She begins arguing as soon as she notices Stan coming up to her. It catches both Raphael and Stan off guard, their slight falter giving Clary the push to continue louder, confident she’s getting at them. ‘’Camille has him, she just took him and we aren’t able to locate them. Letting her out was a mistake. I know that now. Please help him, Raphael.’’ And she is, she’s getting at the very topic Raphael intentionally doesn’t let himself think about too much. She just said the name the entire clan intentionally avoids mentioning like it’d bring back the plague. His fledgling that betrayed them for the people that would rather have them all dead. His fledgling that he’s been helping and putting up with shadowhunters and werewolves for since the day he crawled his way out of that grave. His personal advisor, that he literally and figuratively gave the clothes off his back to, that he, they all, came to trust in a matter of weeks, the one person that made him experience actual pain after years of feeling nothing, by stabbing him in the back. Letting Camille out was a mistake, he warned them and they went ahead and did it regardless. Raphael, in his century of living, has made plenty mistakes, getting Clary Fairchild involved in vampire matters would be a mistake he isn’t going to add to that list.

‘’Simon betrayed me. He means nothing, anymore. I suggest you leave before I make you.’’ Stan takes it as his cue to force the girl out. She struggles when he grabs her, trying to get out of his hold, but Stan hasn’t been appointed guard for nothing. He’s strong enough to hold her, no matter what rune she has up her sleeve. ‘’Wait! You still need Simon as proof!’’ Raphael visibly sighs, making a show of it as he really puts his shoulders into portraying how exhausting her attempt is. ‘’We both know that isn’t true anymore. Manipulation and lies,’’ He huffs a chuckle at the last sentence. ‘’You’re becoming quite the shadowhunter.’’ He smiles at her, as she’s physically being dragged out. Raphael lets his shoulders droop when the door shuts behind them, the show is over. He returns to his place on the sofa, starts tapping again. He’s even more impatient now that he knows Camille has Simon. He’d suspected she would, so he had clan members observing both of them. They haven’t returned yet and Raphael fears they never will. 

Stan comes back after a few minutes and asks him if he’s alright. Raphael doesn’t bother keeping up the pretence. ‘’I want him back.’’ He admits, for the first time since the incident. He hasn’t even dared to think it before, but it’s clouding his mind now. He wants Simon back. Stan nods, as per usual when Raphael orders him, but this time he has a smile. Simon had an impact on the clan in his time with them and Raphael imagines they want him stirring up their daily lives again as well. 

Raphael stands and walks through the door, followed by Stan. ‘’After all, we still need to punish him.’’ He grins.

 

\- - - -

 

When night finally comes around, Raphael leaves the hotel, followed closely by eleven of the clan’s strongest members. If all else fails, they will have to extract Simon by force. The closer they got to Camille’s last known place of residence, the more on edge he could feel them all become, himself included. They were going to end this tonight. With Valentine active, Camille was too dangerous to roam around freely. He ordered them all to stay put outside while he went in alone first. They’d know when they’re needed.

When Raphael enters, he’s immediately greeted by the sight of his fledgling, stuck in a corner and wearing what seems to be a dog collar. Simon looks at him. ‘’Raphael.’’ He whispers. First there’s shock, then shame and then he averts his eyes altogether. He’s tied to one of the tables on a small leash and his clothes have gashes in them. Raphael feels an immense urge to untie him and take him back to the hotel to get him fixed up, but now is not the time to give into urges. 

‘’Hello, Raphael.’’ Camille drawls from the top of the stairs, before she gracefully descends them. Raphael is instantly back on edge and he notices Simon is as well. ‘’You like the leash? He’s been hanging around those mutts so much, I figured he’d enjoy being treated like one.’’ She smiles, the picture of a woman who knows she’s in complete control. Raphael wishes it weren’t so, but he can feel the presence of more vampires, none of his own, somewhere close. 

‘’A nice touch.’’ Raphael grinds out as he brightens his own smile. ‘’But a little too cruel for my tastes.’’ He adds casually. At least he hopes it comes out casual. ‘’Oh, don’t worry.’’ She laughs as she walks over to Raphael. She lets her fangs drop, still smiling, but obviously challenging him for dominance. ‘’We’ve been having fun.’’ 

As she says it, he notices Simon flinching from the corner of his eye, he hears the soft intake of breath that the fledgling doesn’t need. He has to force himself to keep his eyes trained on Camille. She seems to notice as well, but unlike Raphael she turns towards Simon. ‘’Didn’t I tell you to stop that?’’ She asks. Simon deflects his eyes and stays silent, something that’s been bugging Raphael since he came in. ‘’He’s always doing that. Making noises, talking. I’d say it annoys me to death, but, well…’’ She rattles off curtly, the charm suddenly gone. Raphael takes a shot at it. 

‘’If he’s that much of a bother, I could take him back.’’ He offers, still trying his hardest to appear civil. Camille laughs again, that same cold laugh as before. ‘’Didn’t I already tell you we have fun, despite his bad habits?’’ She whips her head back to Raphael, pouting at him. ‘’A girl shouldn’t taste and tell, but since we’re among our own…’’ She trails off. 

That’s when Raphael notices it. It’s like the room just dropped temperature, even though he can’t actually feel it, it seems ice cold. Everything stops as he turns to face Simon, he can’t focus on anything else than what’s behind those gashes in his clothes. He forgets about Camille and where he is entirely when he spots them. Several marks all over Simon’s body, two pinpricks a few inches apart in some places, four neat slashes in some others, with blood stained upwards, telling him exactly the kind of ‘fun’ she’s been having. 

‘’You’ve been feeding from him?’’ Raphael doesn’t realize he said it until Simon makes an effort to hide his wounds best as he can, despite being tied up. Camille hums and suddenly everything comes back into focus like a slap in the face. ‘’He’s just so tasty, even now.’’ She smiles, eyes on Simon. She winks at him and Raphael jolts. He doesn’t care any more that there’s more of her people around, he doesn’t care that Camille is stronger, he doesn’t care that he planned on taking her alive. All he cares about it Simon. For the second time that day, Raphael sees red, but this time his rage completely consumes him. Camille looks back at him and the moment their eyes lock, he’s on her.

Camille reacts fast, what should have been a tackle quickly becomes Raphael flying into the wall. He can hear the rest of the house stirring, coming into action as he’s getting up. He tries to go at Camille again, but gets sideswiped by a young vampire, one of Camille’s recent turns, no doubt. He’s struggling to get out from under him as the younger swipes at will, untrained but powerful. He can hear more coming closer, can feel his own closing in as well, and is about to push the younger vampire off when he notices a little girl run into the room. She can’t be older than thirteen and Raphael’s heart aches for her, gets him distracted enough to catch a claw right in his face. ‘’-Really shouldn’t have done that.’’ He grunts as he digs his own nails into the younger one’s shoulders and forcefully throws him across the room in Camille’s direction. Trying to dodge the body, he catches her in a, this time successful, tackle. He lets his fangs drop and bites into whatever part he can reach, tearing it out. There’s someone on his back when he tries to go in again, but the pressure goes just as quick as it’s come. Camille shoots a hand out, going for his throat. He manages to catch it by the wrist and dig his claws in, tearing them downwards through the flesh as he pushes her arm back. Camille gains power over him, and flips them. She takes her arm back and closes her clawed hand over Raphael’s throat. 

‘’I think you’ve had enough play time, don’t you?’’ She snarls and she uses her free hand to rip through his chest.. ‘’You’re inadequate. You could never lead them as well as I can. You can’t win from me.’’ She taunts him as she slowly keeps ripping up his flesh, confident she’s winning, despite the battle between clans going on behind her. Then, she’s just gone. Someone threw her off of him. Raphael gets on his feet, hunched, as he searches the room, quickly locating her and seeing Simon trying to go toe to toe with her. Raphael sprints over and separates them, getting Camille back on the floor and towering over her, quickly swiping his claws through her throat. He keeps swiping, like he’s possessed, tearing her up bit by bit. He can feel and hear her choking on blood, but he wills himself to tune it out, repeating to himself that she’s too dangerous to be allowed to live, like a mantra. Soon, there’s nothing left to swipe at, his nails catch the hardwood floor and the sound it creates is deafening. The battle dies out as the sound does. 

Raphael’s chest is heaving, even though he doesn’t need to breathe, he’s taking lungs full. He slowly gets back on his feet, leaning on his right side since his left is damaged. Everyone is looking at them. First, at him, as he stares back at them, the obvious victor. Then, at Camille, as her decapitated head falls to the side. She’s dead. 

He limps over to where he pushed Simon. He’s not sure when someone had a go at his leg, but he’s feeling it now. There’s a vampire he doesn’t recognize that still has his hand lodged in Simon's shirt. A single glare from Raphael quickly has it dislodged. Without a word, he pulls Simon up off the floor and pretends he’s not leaning half his weight on the fledgling. The silence around them is deafening, Simon hasn’t spoken a word since Raphael’s arrival and up close he can see why. It’s like someone had tried to sow his mouth shut. Raphael pressed his thumb to Simon’s chin, silently ordering him to open up, as he does. He notices the cut up state Simon’s tongue is in, like Camile had dragged her nails through it at some point. That won’t happen, ever again. ‘’Cat got your tongue?’’ He asks with a grin, as he looks back to Camille’s lifeless body. Simon visibly relaxes at that, the tension dropping from his entire body. He lets himself sink into Raphael, who tries his best holding up both of them. He throws his arms around Simon and lets his forehead rest against the other’s, both of their eyes closed. ‘’It’s okay.’’ He whispers. He presses a quick kiss to Simon’s forehead and dislodges himself from his fledgling and faces the room. ‘’You fought well.’’ He praises his subordinates. ‘’Take them all back to the Du Mort.’’ He orders, as he limps to the exit. 

 

\- - - -

 

Once he’s back at the hotel, Raphael immediately goes for his room. He stitches himself back up, carefully cleaning the wounds, and takes all of daylight to rest. He can’t sleep, not when his clan suddenly has new additions and no plan on what to do with them. He contemplates who will be in charge of training them, now that Raphael isn’t in a state to do so. He contemplates what to do with Simon now that he has him back. He thinks of everything Camille might have done to him and what she could have done if they hadn’t acted so fast. He forces himself to stop that train of thought, instead his mind travels to the two guards they’re still missing. They can’t be dead, the entire clan would have felt the loss. 

Raphael gets up when he notices people awakening in the hotel. He doesn’t go far, Simon’s room is right next to his and he seems like a good first stop to inquire about the missing clan members. He foregoes knocking, still hurt from the betrayal, he figures Simon should earn his respect back. When he enters, there’s multiple people in the room, Simon, still asleep, next to him on the bed is a vampire girl, one of Camille’s. There’s more of Camille’s fledglings littered around the room, all asleep. Stan is sitting in a corner chair, watching them. ‘’What are the others doing here?’’ He asks, not bothering to be quiet. ‘’They insisted and Simon agreed it would be better to not leave them alone after everything that happened last night.’’ Stan informs him after he’s walked over, minding the sleeping vampires. ‘’And you didn’t think to ask me for approval?’’ Raphael almost can’t believe this, how strong of a hold Simon still has to the clan even after abandoning them for the shadowhunters. He can’t blame them, though, since he himself still feels a connection to him. ‘’I apologize, I won’t let it happen again.’’ Raphael tells Stan he can leave now. He takes up the seat the other had previously sat in and waits.

The first to wake up is the girl, as soon as she notices Raphael she freaks out, pushing herself into the headboard and closer to Simon, dropping her fangs and hissing at him. ‘’That’s hardly the kind of greeting you give the person who rescued you less than a day ago.’’ He can’t be too kind with the new ones, who knows how loyal they are to Camille. The girl seems to catch herself, calming down slightly, looking at her fist, which was tangled up in the bed sheets, as she speaks.

‘’I still haven’t thanked you-‘’ She starts, but Raphael cuts her off. ‘’Don’t thank me. Just leave, you aren’t staying in this room.’’ She nods and hastily gets off the bed and towards the door. Right after she opened the door, she stops and turns around. ‘’You aren’t going to hurt him, are you?’’ She asks almost pleadingly. ‘’That’s not your concern.’’ He states, because it’s really not. Her only concern should be getting on Raphael’s good side, so she can stay with them. Defiance wouldn’t help her case and she seems to get that, as she walks out right after he’s answered her. He waked up the others and tells them the same thing. After a while, it’s just him and Simon. Raphael lets himself sink into the chair, feeling no rush to wake Simon up, until he remembers that there is actually a rush. Two missing people.

He walks over and shakes Simon awake. The moment the fledgling wakes, he sits up abruptly, much like the girl earlier, ready to attack. Raphael doesn’t need to say anything before Simon takes notice of where he is, who Raphael is, and drops back down onto the bed, seemingly exhausted. ‘’Get up, there’s no time for sleeping.’’ Raphael tells him, shaking him again. ‘’Raphael, please.’’ Simon groans, a slight lull to his words, that Raphael figures is the result of his tongue still not having healed. 

‘’I haven’t slept for three days.’’ There’s that ache again, the same one when he saw the little girl back at Camille’s, like something is tugging at his heart strings. ‘’There’s more urgent matters than your beauty sleep.’’ He forces himself to say. ‘’Damien and Gwen, do you know where they are?’’ He asks, getting right to business. Simon seems to perk up at that, sitting up again and scooting over the edge of the bed. ‘’Yeah. Yeah, Camille locked them in the basement, an eye for an eye and all that. Haven’t you found them?’’ Raphael sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. Of course Camille would put them in the basement. ‘’We haven’t searched her place, yet.’’ He admits. He takes out his phone and texts their location to Stan, telling him to get them out and take some people with him. Simon is quiet throughout the process, which worries Raphael to some extent. Usually he’s always going on about something or the other. Raphael looks up from his phone and Simon visibly swallows when their eyes meet. 

‘’Listen, Raphael.’’ He begins, but then pauses, like he doesn’t know what to say. He averts his eyes from Raphael’s and the latter waits it out. ‘’I know it was wrong, going behind your back, freeing Camille.’’ Raphael scoffs, understatement of the century. ‘’The realisation literally hit me in the face, a couple of times.’’ Simon laughs, but it sounds bitter. ‘’And I know it’s probably unforgivable, but,’’ He looks back at Raphael now, eyes open and searching the other’s. ‘’I’m sorry. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am, for everything.’’ Simon finishes, eyes still going back and forth between Raphael’s, like he’s looking for any sign that the elder might forgive him, nevertheless. Raphael stands tall, rolling his shoulder and looking down at the fledgling. ‘’It won’t be that easy.’’ He says and Simon nods along. ‘’You’ll have to earn forgiveness, from each and every member of the clan.’’ It’s a last ditch effort to not make this is a personal matter and Simon probably recognizes it, but wisely doesn’t comment. The room stays silent for a while, until Simon shifts on the bed, standing to face Raphael. 

‘’I’d like to start by earning yours.’’ He smiles and Raphael grins back. What a perfect opportunity to at least get rid of one of his worries. ‘’Then you’ll be in charge of training the new additions to our family. You’ll be with them every night, teaching them everything I taught you, making sure they’re okay and that they don’t leave the hotel.’’ Simon smile quickly falters at that and Raphael takes personal pleasure in watching it fade. ‘’But that’s, like, fourteen people...’’ He whispers, disbelieving. Raphael cups the side of his face and nods, eyebrows drawing up. He knows he looks smug. ‘’Think of it as punishment.’’ He smirks and pats Simon’s cheek, meaning it as a ‘that will be all’ gesture, the last thing before he walks out, but Simon flinching away from it stop him dead in his tracks. 

He knew Simon was still hurt, injuries like that don’t just go away in a day’s sleep, even with vampire healing, but they had become less noticeable. Vampires don’t bruise, all that’s left after impact is just the hollowness where flesh used to be, sometimes a little blood. Simon had his injuries cleaned up, but now that Raphael really looks at him, he can tell they were there, even if he didn’t already know. ‘’What did she do to you?’’ He didn’t mean to say it, but he doesn’t regret it. He wants to know and it appears Simon’s willing to tell him. 

‘’It was bad.’’ Simon takes in a breath he doesn’t need. ‘’She, um, she sowed up my mouth, beat me around a bit, made me-‘’ He hitched like he didn’t want to say it. Raphael put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, hoping it’d bring his support across without needing to say it. It wasn’t enough to fix it, but it seemed to help. ‘’She made me drink from them, before she turned them, then she’d drink from me.’’ To say Raphael didn’t expect it would be a lie, Camille was always more amused by cruelty. Against his better judgement, he used the grip on the other’s shoulder to pull him in for a hug. Simon clamped around him like an octopus, not willing to let go any time soon, but that was okay, neither was Raphael. 

‘’It’s okay.’’ Raphael whispered when he could feel Simon starting to sob. ‘’Yo te protegeré de ahora en adelante.’’ He tried to reassure the younger vampire. He hadn’t forgiven Simon yet, since he believes two wrongs don’t make a right, but he will take him back and care for him while he heals. With Simon close to him again, something connects itself inside Raphael, something that makes the weight on his shoulders a little more bearable. Something that tells him that it really is going to be okay. 

Turning Simon Lewis was a mistake, but only in the sense that Raphael would never have willingly let him suffer like this.

**Author's Note:**

> Extra: _Raphael is about to leave the room when Simon calls out to him. ‘’Hey, Raphael. Why do I have Demi Lovato’s ‘Shouldn’t come back’ on replay?’’ Raphael whips around faster than the eye can see. He walks over and takes Simon’s Ipod from him. ‘’Get some sleep.’’_ [X](http://raphaelsantiagod.tumblr.com/post/142361553475/lmg-im-listening-to-demi-lovato-shouldnt-come)  
>  So, there's that. I usually only think of happy AUs, but somewhere along the way I just went: You know what you could do instead? Make them suffer more. I'm still trying to figure out if that was the right decision.
> 
> I hope you liked it nevertheless! Please leave me comments and kudos, I live for validation. Also, come talk Saphael to me on tumblr, @[Meraus](http://meraus.tumblr.com/)


End file.
